4 Leon County restaurants get perfect scores; 1 closed; 14 fail inspection

Staff reports
·6 min read

You can use the database to search by county or by restaurant name.

Florida's restaurant owners are not required to post restaurant inspection results where guests can see them. So every week, we provide that information for you.

For a complete list of local restaurant inspections, including violations not requiring warnings or administrative action, visit our Leon County restaurant inspections site.

Here's the breakdown for recent health inspections in Leon County, Florida, for the week of Dec. 18-24, 2023. Please note that some more recent, follow-up inspections may not be included here.

Disclaimer: The Florida Department of Business & Professional Regulation describes an inspection report as a 'snapshot' of conditions present at the time of the inspection. On any given day, an establishment may have fewer or more violations than noted in their most recent inspection. An inspection conducted on any given day may not be representative of the overall, long-term conditions at the establishment.

For full restaurant inspection details, visit our Leon County restaurant inspection site.

A specialty burger from Hopdoddy Burger Bar.
A specialty burger from Hopdoddy Burger Bar.

Which Leon County restaurants got perfect scores on their health inspections?

These restaurants met all standards during their Dec. 18-24 inspections and no violations were found.

** Restaurants that failed an inspection and aced a follow-up inspection in the same week

Which Leon County restaurants were temporarily closed by inspectors?

These restaurants failed their Dec. 18-24 inspections and were temporarily closed. Follow-upinspections are required.

Chipotle #3511

699 W Gaines St, Unit 100, Tallahassee

Complaint Inspection on Dec. 21

Facility Temporarily Closed: Operations ordered stopped until violations are corrected.

2 total violations, with 1 high-priority violation

  • High Priority - Roach activity present as evidenced by live roaches found. Observed a total of 4 lives roaches in following locations: 3 under delivery pick up station, 1 live roach under turbo chef pick up delivery area. **Warning**

Which Leon County restaurants had high priority violations?

Cherry Laurel

1009 Concord Rd, Tallahassee

Complaint Inspection on Dec. 18

Follow-Up Inspection Required: Violations require further review, but are not an immediate threat to the public.

6 total violations, with 1 high-priority violation

  • High Priority - Raw animal food stored over/not properly separated from ready-to-eat food. Observed raw shell eggs over beef in walk in cooler. Employee placed beef over shell eggs during time of inspection. **Corrected On-Site**

Empire Chinese Restaurant

1700 N Monroe St, Suite 12, Tallahassee

Routine Inspection on Dec. 20

Follow-Up Inspection Required: Violations require further review, but are not an immediate threat to the public.

5 total violations, with 1 high-priority violation

  • High Priority - Raw animal food stored over/not properly separated from ready-to-eat food. Raw chicken over cut cabbage and cut carrots. Operator moved Vegetables. **Corrected On-Site**

Poco Vino

225 S Adams St, Ste 100, Tallahassee

Routine Inspection on Dec. 18

Follow-Up Inspection Required: Violations require further review, but are not an immediate threat to the public.

3 total violations, with 1 high-priority violation

  • High Priority - Operating with an expired Division of Hotels and Restaurants license. Expired 6/1/23. **Admin Complaint**

Proof Brewpub

1320 S Monroe St, Tallahassee

Routine Inspection on Dec. 20

Follow-Up Inspection Required: Violations require further review, but are not an immediate threat to the public.

5 total violations, with 1 high-priority violation

  • High Priority - Toxic substance/chemical improperly stored. Observed bleach and isopropyl alcohol spray bottles stored on hand as sink in bar area. Owner removed and stored properly. **Corrected On-Site**

The Social Vegan

505 W Georgia St, Tallahassee

Routine Inspection on Dec. 22

Follow-Up Inspection Required: Violations require further review, but are not an immediate threat to the public.

10 total violations, with 3 high-priority violations

  • High Priority - Employee failed to wash hands before putting on gloves to initiate a task working with food. Observed employee drink from cup and then put in gloves, no hand wash.

  • High Priority - Stop Sale issued on time/temperature control for safety food due to temperature abuse. Time/temperature control for safety food cold held at greater than 41 degrees Fahrenheit. Observed chick peas 47F, and pico di gallo 47F in expo cooler.

  • High Priority - Time/temperature control for safety food cold held at greater than 41 degrees Fahrenheit. Observed chick peas 47F, and pico di gallo 47F in expo cooler. Per manager stored over overnight.

Volcano Hot Pot and BBQ

1872 Thomasville Rd, Unit A, Tallahassee

Routine Inspection on Dec. 19

Follow-Up Inspection Required: Violations require further review, but are not an immediate threat to the public.

8 total violations, with 4 high-priority violations

  • High Priority - Nonfood-grade containers used for food storage - direct contact with food. Plastic thank you bags used for storage of raw chicken in walk-in freezer. **Repeat Violation**

  • High Priority - Raw animal food stored over/not properly separated from ready-to-eat food. Eggs over mushrooms in walk-in cooler. Operator moved eggs to bottom shelf at time of inspection. **Corrected On-Site**

  • High Priority - Self-service salad bar/buffet lacking adequate sneezeguards or other proper protection from contamination. Sneeze guard missing at vegetable buffet table, and at counter with lettuce, Korean bbq, and yum sauce. **Repeat Violation** **Warning**

  • High Priority - Vacuum breaker missing at hose bibb or on fitting/splitter added to hose bibb. Vacuum breaker required at hose Bibb by prep sink.

What agency inspects restaurants in Florida?

Routine regulation and inspection of restaurants is conducted by the Department of Business and Professional Regulation. The Department of Health is responsible for investigation and control of food-borne illness outbreaks associated with all food establishments.

How do I report a dirty restaurant in Florida?

If you see abuses of state standards, report them and the Department of Business and Professional Regulation will send inspectors. Call the Florida DBPR at 850-487-1395 or report a restaurant for health violations online.

Get the whole story at our restaurant inspection database.

What does all that terminology in Florida restaurant inspections mean?

Basic violations are those considered against best practices.

A warning is issued after an inspector documents violations that must be corrected by a certain date or within a specified number of days from receipt of the inspection report.

An administrative complaint is a form of legal action taken by the division. Insufficient compliance after a warning, a pattern of repeat violations or existence of serious conditions that warrant immediate action may result in the division initiating an administrative complaint against the establishment. Says the division website: "Correcting the violations is important, but penalties may still result from violations corrected after the warning time was over."

An emergency order — when a restaurant is closed by the inspector — is based on an immediate threat to the public. Here, the Division of Hotels and Restaurants director has determined that the establishment must stop doing business and any division license is suspended to protect health, safety or welfare of the public.

A 24-hour call-back inspection will be performed after an emergency closure or suspension of license.

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Tallahassee area restaurant and food truck inspections Dec. 18-24